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Vincent Gono, Features Editor
ONCE upon a time, before the sad de-industrialisation of Bulawayo became a niggling national crisis that metamorphosed into a full narrative of so many failed companies in the city, there was a big shoe making company called G&D Shoes which was almost the equivalent of Bata in Gweru during its heyday.
At full production capacity, the company used to make more than 10 000 pairs of shoes per day and used to employ in excess of 6 000 employees. It was owned by Mr Allan Fersenbaum before he sold it to business tycoon Dr Philip Chiyangwa in 1998. Dr Chiyangwa however, contends that he simply picked up assets way after some core and critical pieces had been cherry picked and sold away by the owners.
He said he passed on the pieces of what was the former glory of the company to Mr Gula Ndebele (former Attorney General) who also failed to turn around the fortunes of what had emerged as one of the biggest employer in Bulawayo.
Whether what Dr Chiyangwa is saying is true or not is neither here nor there but that the company changed hands and demised is a fact. As for under whose stewardship the company folded under is not important, at least at this juncture.
When the company folded a lot of families felt the economic harassment as it had become their source of livelihood. They were left exposed to the vagaries of the harsh economic realities associated with unemployment.
Unfortunately it was also a time when most of the industries were catching the contagious economic flue that was made worse by the sanctions imposed on the country.
However, as in natural geography, the setting of the sun gives power to the stars to shine and if the sun does not set then one can easily be forgiven for thinking that there are no stars. Using the sun’s analogy, the demise of G&D Shoes in Bulawayo gave rise to so many shoe making companies and corners in Bulawayo where those with entrepreneurial minds saw an opportunity to use whatever experience they had gained to create gainful employment for themselves and others.
One of the many employees who never took as negative the closure of the big shoe firm at a time that coincided with the black empowerment agenda was Mr Stuart Simali who had joined the company as a trainee production manager in 1992.
Mr Simali distinguished himself with his stellar credentials as an epitome of hard work and passionate employee and was one of the two employees send to Czech Republic to pursue studies in shoe making by Mr Fersenbaum.
He was bonded to the company for 10 years where he was supposed to use the knowledge he had acquired in Czech Republic to improve production at the company.
Sunday News features editor Vincent Gono (VG) talked to Mr Stuart Simali (SS) who is the proud owner of Millennium Footwear in Bulawayo who walked us through the rough-shod road he travelled to where he is today standing tall and more successful than ever, in an operating environment scarred and full of business carcasses of has-beens.
He has won several awards at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and other trade showcases locally and regionally and said customer satisfaction was at the core of his success story in a city that has been branded as the distressed national industrial hub.
He said while people could talk of Millennium Footwear, its birth could never be divorced from the demise of G&D Shoes where the idea was born and nurtured.
VG: Mr Simali, you are one of the fast growing shoe making companies in Bulawayo where a lot of companies are either closing shop or downsizing. What is the secret to your success?
SS: My greatest secret and strength is my ability to stay positive in a negative environment. I am passionate about shoes, and I believe this business of shoe making comes naturally to me. Yes, the operating environment is stifling, chocking and straining, we have challenges in foreign currency and getting quality raw materials but with the right business mind premised on customer satisfaction we somehow find ourselves going in the same Bulawayo that some are abandoning. So it’s not about the place but the market satisfaction.
VG: Can you briefly take us through how you started your business and where you are now?
SS: The idea was mooted after the company (G&D) started having problems. When Chiyangwa bought the company in 1998 I worked with him for one year and I left to pursue my dreams. I had only two employees who had left G&D with me and we were working from a balcony in town and that was in 2000 hence the name Millennium. As we grew, I started sub-contracting some big companies to do my orders that I would have done the marketing for.
I was a senior employee when I left G&D Shoes and I knew a lot of people in our line of business, so it was easy for me to deal with them. I had no cent but I had the ideas and fortunately a number of them trusted me and gave me the materials on the agreement that I will pay when my orders are through.
I then set up my factory and started operating at my first base at supersonic in 2004 with less than 10 employees, all of whom I had worked with at G&D Shoes.
We started saving for the machinery that you are seeing now and we made sure we keep our business afloat. I have a dedicated team and we never really stopped from that time but our empire has continued to grow.
We are servicing the local and regional market. We have been supplying big clothing shops in the country and we have gone as far as Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and other countries in the region. We are now busy scouting for the international market and we are sure we will break through. Our exotic leather products are proving popular with the market and that will be our trump card. We have products made from giraffe, buffalo, elephant, ostrich, crocodile and rhino skin.
I now have a complement of 20 employees and have moved the factory from supersonic to a more spacious place which are pointers of growth. All things being equal we have a capacity to produce 800 pairs of shoes but now we are working on orders only and we are producing about 200 pairs per day.
I am however, thinking of buying new state-of-the-art machinery that enhances the quality of our products because for now we are relying on the expertise of our workers to do the job because the machinery is a bit old and does not aid in ensuring precision.
VG: A lot of businesspeople have been complaining about the influx of imports from China which are relatively cheap compared to locally produced shoes and other products in your line of business, how have you managed to beat competition?
SS: It is true that there is an influx of shoes, belts, wallets and handbags which are imported but cheap. Those that have been buying from us will testify that our goods are of high quality so we are generally unfazed by the imports. They are no competition to us at all. We also have other shoe manufacturers but we do not consider them as competition, we call them partners and I think the healthy thing is to share ideas on how best we can improve our industry and support each other as much as possible. Most of the local guys that are doing shoes in town are acquaintances. We were working together at G&D. I have set a shop in town to try and help them have easy access to materials needed in shoe making.
The idea is to fight redundancy and promote an honest living among our people so we should assist each other grow.
VG: What operational challenges have you been facing so far and how have you been skirting them to remain afloat and expanding your brand?
SS: The operating environment is difficult. One has to go an extra mile but we are still small and very flexible. We are an easy entity to turn around because decisions are made and implemented without delay. However, that the economy is not in good standing means a number of people have no buying power and those that have it may not be thinking of increasing a pair of shoes but more pressing issues.
The other issue is that we have not been getting the right quality of leather which in turn affects the quality of our shoes. Those that deal with hides prefer to export them when they are raw and I think the Government should put in place some legislation to prohibit that because what it means is that we will need to buy the same leather from South Africa at a more expensive price when we could have bought it locally.
We have also been facing delays in our value chain where we sometimes fail to get the leather in time leading to delays in processing customer’s orders. We need 1st grade leather but in most cases it is exported which is a bit unfair to us. We also urge farmers to consider the quality of the hides from their cattle and sell them young and well kept for an improved quality of leather. To me it’s all about innovation that brings growth and Bulawayo remains a good investment destination to those that are innovative.
Online Reporter